In Family & Parenting

How to Raise the Next Generation with Faith that Lasts

May 12, 2025 No Comments

Whether you’re raising toddlers, mentoring teenagers, or simply loving the kids God’s placed in your life—one thing is clear: the next generation matters. A lot. And not just to you, but to God.

You don’t have to be a perfect parent to raise kids who love Jesus. But you do need to be present. You need a plan. And you need to realize that what you’re building today is shaping someone else’s tomorrow.

That’s what this week’s message was all about: Raising the Next Generation. And before you check out thinking this doesn’t apply to you—stay with me. Because this isn’t just for moms and dads. This is for anyone who’s ever influenced a child, coached a team, served in Hope City Kids, or prayed for a student walking through hard things.

Here’s the truth: If we don’t intentionally pass on our faith, it won’t pass on at all.

Judges 2:10 tells us that a generation grew up who “knew neither the Lord nor what He had done for Israel.” That should shake us. Because we are always one generation away from forgetting God if we don’t speak up and live out the truth.

Your influence is building something. The only question is—what are you building?

Proverbs 14:1 reminds us that “The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.” Your words, your prayers, your presence—they’re shaping your family’s spiritual legacy right now. Every time you show up, every bedtime prayer, every “Jesus loves you” matters.

Here’s your encouragement today: You don’t need to be perfect. But you do need to be intentional. Make time to talk about God. Speak life into your kids. Correct with grace and lead with love. They’re being discipled—by someone. Let it be you.

Let’s make this practical.

Take five minutes today and ask yourself:

What kind of adult am I praying my child (or the next generation) becomes?

Write a one or two sentence mission statement for how you want to raise or influence the next generation.

Check out the whole message here:

In Family & Parenting

3 Tips for a Better Dating Relationship

September 26, 2013 2 Comments

The lyrics from Jimmy Soul’s song, If You Want To Be Happy, always haunted me as a teenager. Was it true? Did I need to follow his advice in order to be happy for the rest of my life? Check out his advice for all you single men.

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life
Never make a pretty woman your wife
So from my personal point of view
Get an ugly girl to marry you

What is up with that guy? I can tell you that in order to be happy you don’t need to look under the ugly tree. Dating can be one of the most difficult times of your life, or it can be one of the most exciting times! Here are a few tips to help intentionally date him or her.

1. Foster Friendship

When you start the relationship out from the basis of having already been friends, communication comes easier. Friends tell other friends that there is something in their teeth. There isn’t a hesitation to share with the other person. This isn’t to say that if you started dating someone who wasn’t your friend at first that it will fail, it just means that you need to work harder to foster your friendship. Work as hard to foster your friendship as your romantic attraction towards one another. Romance is awesome, but friendship is life giving. Tiffany and I were very intentional about creating an authentic friendship by letting go of the pressure to be the person we thought the other one wanted to date. It allowed us to get to know the real person and fall in love with them.

2. Experience Life Together

Life is the sum of so many events and activities. Unfortunately I talk to too many dating couples who only go to the same few places together. It’s so predictable, Dinner, a Movie, and then maybe drinks afterwards. Life is more than dinner and movies. Go experience all of what life has to offer. You don’t need to live together, or play house in order to do this. Tiffany and I would do all sorts of things together. If one of us needed to go somewhere, the other usually tagged along. We ran together, studied together, played ultimate frisbee together, went to church together and served there together as well. We were able to see each other’s strength’s, passions, and honestly one another’s weakness’ as well. There is more to a relationship than dinner and a movie!

3. Bare Your Soul

Bare your soul, not your body–that will come later. Before you worry about getting naked, worry about getting intimate. Intimacy is much more than sex. Intimacy is being willing to be open and honest about your failures, and fears. Intimacy is being transparent with another person and not feeling like you need to maintain an image. When you bear your soul to the other person, there is no fear of them finding something out–you’ve already told them! Is it scary? You bet. Is it worth it? More than you could imagine. Seriously though, when you are transparent and honest, you get to just be yourself. After all, that’s the only person you have to offer if and when you get to that altar. Before Tiffany and I were even dating, one of the very first nights that we hung out we sat on a bench and began to open up to one another about who we really were. I knew that there was something worth pursuing there because I could see that there was an incredible depth of character. She was a real person not just a facade.

Dating can be extraordinarily fun. Especially when you are intentional about what you are up to. There’s a ton of jokesters out there. I think these three things help sniff em out so you can move past them!

~Peter

Here’s a throwback to our dating days! I can’t believe that she said yes even though I wore chunky hemp necklaces and rocked the George Clooney haircut!

Beautiful Couple

In Family & Parenting

Let’s Talk About the Fight: How to Handle Conflict in Marriage

September 19, 2013 3 Comments

Before you were married, did you think that you would ever fight with your future spouse? I didn’t. I thought that everyday I would be greeted by rainbows and butterflies. I thought that those birds from Mary Poppins would fly to my window and wake me up with their merry little song. Then after a homemade breakfast I would ride into work on the back of a unicorn.

I was living in a fantasy world.

Every married couple will experience times in their relationship when they do not agree, and will display their disagreement passionately. Let’s just call it what it is- every married couple will fight. I used to work with a guy who could barely say that he and his wife would fight. The word fight just sounded so harsh to him. Let’s just do ourselves a favor and call it what it is.

The first fight that I can remember having with my wife Tiffany was in the middle of Shop Rite over what kind of ‘taco family’ we would be- soft shell or hard shell taco’s. You think I’m kidding. I’m not. You can’t make this kind of stuff up. She wanted hard shells because that’s all she ever had growing up, and I of course wanted the opposite for the same reasons as her.

Normal people will experience disruptions in their relationships. How we deal with those disruptions is the question.

When you get into these heated disagreements, you can do three things to get to the other side of that disagreement.

1. Disarm

The best thing that you can do when you feel the conversation getting a bit more heated is to disarm it-take the pot off the heat before it boils over. This is when you need to quickly clarify the situation. Clearly the other person thinks that you have done, thought, or said something. Here is where you put a stop to that thought, and quickly.

2. Define

In the midst of a fight, words can often fall out of your mouth that you never would have let slip when your emotions are a bit more calm. Heated arguments often remove the filter that we have over our tongue. One of the most helpful things you can do is to define the situation. You can do this quickly and easily by saying something like, “What I hear you saying is _________”. Or by asking a simple question, “What do you mean when you say ____________?” “Help me understand where you are coming from.” Understanding the heart of the issue helps you find a resolution to it.

3. Dig-in

Any relationship that is worth having is worth fighting for; even in the midst of your most difficult conflict. After you have disarmed the situation, and defined what you are fighting about, it is time to do the dirty work of figuring out why each other is feeling the way that you are. Take a deep breath, sit down, relax your shoulders, and begin to discuss why you are where you are. Keep asking why—eventually you will get to the bottom of it.

Just because you have a fight doesn’t mean that you are the worst couple in the world. No! Normal people have disagreements. Maybe your parents portrayed that they were the perfect couple who never fought. I promise you they did, just not in front of you. Everyone disagrees at some point in time. Do yourself a favor, commit to working it through before you get to the place of disagreement. Decide ahead of time how you are going to function when the temperature gets hotter!

Guess what kind of taco household we are now! Leave it in the comments.

~Peter

In Family & Parenting

4 Habits That Keep Our Marriage Strong

September 10, 2013 4 Comments

Tonight Tiffany and I are going out to celebrate our 9 year anniversary! We were married on August 7th, 2004. Okay, so the celebrations are a little off by a few days, but whose counting, right? Over the course of 9 years we have moved 8 times, served in 3 different churches, had 3 children, and remodeled 2 homes. We have gone through our share of ups and downs. Yet, she is still my best friend, and I cannot imagine what my life would be like without her. The other day she went to the Women of Faith Conference in Philadelphia which meant that she left us for Friday and Saturday. Listen, I am not complaining, grumbling, or looking for the congratulatory wow-you-made-it pat on the back. I am a dad, not a babysitter. I should be able to feed, bathe, and clothe my kids so that my wife can get away and recharge. Doing the girls hair? That’s another story. While she was gone, I found myself thinking, everything is more fun with her around.

I realize that God has blessed me beyond what I deserve with a loving wife and best friend. This doesn’t happen overnight. We have worked hard to make sure that we stay in love, and that we continue to develop our friendship together. Here are 4 practical ways that we stay intentionally married.

1. Delayed Dinner

Every now and then Tiffany and I will feed the kids and then get them in bed before we sit down and enjoy a meal together. There is nothing worse than seeing Tiffany work so hard on an awesome meal only to have it be peppered with arguing children. It is so enjoyable to slow things down and share a meal together- just the two of us.

2. Laugh at the kids

Yes. I said at, not with. We make sure that we laugh AT our kids. Why not? They are so funny! They are consistently providing us with quality entertainment. Have you seen this video? Man, that’s a throw back. But it cracks me up every time. When the kids are going crazy, and the house is filled with noise, loose lego pieces and creepy dolls laying facedown, Tiffany and I have to just look at each other and laugh. This is a crazy life, but it’s our life. Laughing helps!

3. What are 3 things you want to do?

That is a question that we have gotten in the habit of asking each other on Thursday night. It helps because it clarifies the expectations that we each have for the next day. It also ensures that we are taking care of the other person’s needs. Here’s an example of one of my things… I told Tiffany the other day that I wanted to just enjoy my cup of coffee on the porch. That may sound like nothing, but that was huge to me. The ‘3 things’ do not have to be big, but it has been so healthy and meaningful to us.

4. Put your spouse first

We live in a culture that adores our kids. I get it. I love my kids too. There is little else that brings me as much joy as my kids. But there should be at least two things that bring me more joy than they do; my relationship with God, and my relationship with my wife. If I have my relationships out of order than I am going to be setting myself up for failure. I put my relationships in this order, God, Tiffany, Kids, and then my ministry. I am a better husband when I am a better follower of Jesus. I am a better dad when I am a better husband, and I am a better pastor when everything before it has been well taken care of. We need to be careful that we love our kids, not worship them. Practically this means that sometimes we won’t make everyone of Noah’s soccer games because we have something as a family that is more important.

What else would you add to the list? How do you stay intentionally married. Leave a comment below. I’d love to hear it.

~Peter

In Family & Parenting

4 Reasons To Make Your Kids Cry

June 6, 2012 No Comments

Owning up to the truth is always a good thing. So today in an effort to be totally transparent with you guys, I must admit something.

There are times when I make my kids cry….

It’s true. This is a picture of my daughter taken on Monday of this week. She looks really happy doesn’t she? I think that being a good dad, or parent means that you are going to make your kids cry from time to time!

Here are 4 reasons why it’s good to make your kids cry.

1. They are laughing so hard that they cry!

Parents-make your kids laugh, make them laugh hard! Your house should be one of the most fun places that your children are at during their whole week! Dad’s make sure that your stern disciplinarian side isn’t the only side of you that your kids see. Play with them. Get down on their level and just mess around. Be silly. Use your silly voices. Imagine with them.

2. You pushed them out of the way of danger!

There are times when your scary voice comes out. You know exactly which one I am talking about. It is the one that when it is used everyone around knows you mean business. There are times when it is appropriate to allow that voice to come out in order to protect your children from danger. When my daughter Grace was careening out of control towards the street on her bike, the scary voice came out and scared her. She cried. I was trying to protect her from danger. Parents protect your kids from danger, even if it means there will be tears because of it.

3. You showed them a better way!

Kids will be kids. They make mistakes. They fall down and scrape their knees. Sometimes their mistakes are willful. Sometimes they are pushing the boundaries and testing you to see if you will help show them a better way. In these moments lovingly guiding your child, teaching them that their is a better way can lead to tears. Discipline is never fun, even for adults. But it is so important to our children. Parents do not be afraid to cause tears over matters that are significant.

4. You are hugging them so tight that they can’t breath!

Okay Parents DON’T actually hug your kids so hard that they can’t breathe. Parents DO– LOVE YOU KIDS so well that it is unmistakable. Love them in a way that ensures that they know it. Speak the love language of your kid. (Gary Chapman wrote a great book on this topic: “The 5 Love Languages of Children“) Whatever you do make sure that they know you love them. This means more than just saying the words I LOVE YOU. It means showing them that you love them. Something my dad always said which has never left me was that you don’t spell love L-O-V-E. You spell it T-I-M-E. Love your kids well.

So, what things would you add to the list? How have you made your kids cry? Add to the list by leaving a comment or a thought below.

~Peter

In Family & Parenting

Day in the Park

May 17, 2012 No Comments

Last Saturday, I decided to take the kids to the park for a picnic. This was no small undertaking since Momma was gone for her mother’s day trip. We had a blast! We picnicked, and the kids played in the park and then played in a stream. It was wonderful.

I found my self being rejuvenated by the time that I was spending with my kids. I laid with my back on the blanket, holding my 1 year old daughter above me in the air. She was cooing, laughing and drooling all over me. It was incredible, and I loved every moment of it.

I was on the phone the night before talking with a mentor buddy of mine and he asked me how my soul was doing. We had a long conversation about that and then he challenged me to make sure that I was playing well too. He was concerned that I was finding rest and joy in life as well. This picture was the moment I realized that this was exactly where I needed to be. In this moment I was so keenly aware of how much God has blessed my life. I am so thankful!

What a day. I brought the camera along with me to snap some pictures of the kids. We had a blast with that. It turned into a little mother’s day present too! Here is what we gave her.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoseoMrkIIE&feature=youtu.be]

What did you do for Mother’s Day? Even more importantly, how do you refresh your soul?

~Peter

Here’s my only issue… Why is it that the picnic basket I had looks like this? Couldn’t we find one that was a bit more manly? Maybe looked more like this?

In Family & Parenting

My Little Newscaster

May 7, 2012 No Comments

This weekend Tiffany and the kids came along with me to Morristown for Church on Sunday. We went up on Saturday and had a great time hanging out, swimming in the hotel pool and even catching a movie. Sunday’s are an incredibly long day for me, and because they were tagging a long with me, it was a long day for them too! So, last night I gave Noah my iPhone to play with and pass the time while he was waiting patiently. During dinner, he proudly showed us his “NBC 10 News Broadcast script”. It was too cool not to share. I’m proud of this guys mind. He is so creative. I’m excited to see what God does with his life. So, Enjoy! Can you understand it? Or do you need a transl8tor? ~Peter

In Faith in Real Life

Vanilla Ice and My Son

February 24, 2012 No Comments

Okay, for real. I’m jealous of all you people out there who have awesome hair. It is not that you’ve got incredible hair per say, it is the fact that you can do something with it. You can style it. I have been shaving my head for over 4 years now not because I want to be prematurely bald. No, I have been shaving my head because my hair simply will not style in any other way. I grew up with a comb over, I tried the shaggy surfer hair, and I would say for a vast majority of my adult life I’ve had chia pet hair. You know the kind that just poofs out.

I have vowed that Noah will not inherit my comb over, or the chia pet hair cut. So, since the other day he started to look like this guy… We decided that something must be done. So, we busted out the clippers and I went to work. He sure was a trooper. Here’s how it went down. (Barber of Seville style)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcA3ozgqqw0]

Just so you know, I’m open for business, if you are looking for a new do!

~Peter

In Family & Parenting

No Training Wheels…

August 31, 2011 2 Comments

The other day I took Noah out and he shed the training wheels on his bike. He was a bit nervous at first, but then he was totally excited. What a day! He said it was like recess without the training wheels, “because I could go wherever I wanted!” It was a monumental moment in his life.

What monumental moment in life have you had recently?

~Peter

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vXnJhC66mo]

In Faith in Real Life

Texts you don’t ever want to get from your wife…

August 26, 2011 4 Comments

There are texts that you love to get from your wife.

Like:

I love you
I just made a steak dinner for you, hurry home
I was thinking you needed some alone time, go to starbucks for a while
You’ve been working really hard, let me give you a back rub
There is extra money in the budget this month

Then again, there are things that you never want to hear from your wife.

Like:

I Think there is a squirrel in our wood stove
There is a mouse in our heating vents- COME HOME NOW
A possum just declared war on the trash bag by the back door
There is water pouring out of the light in the family room ceiling. I need you here.

Yesterday was the day that I received the last one. Sure enough I came home to find one of the lights in our ceiling dripping a fair amount of water. In case you have never experienced this, it is a really great feeling. Or not. Here’s another clue, water and electricity go together really well. No really they do.

I climbed up into the attic and located the drain/light and much to my shock found this:

Yes, that is a lovely source of water leaking in through the roof. It has come through the shingles, and then the plywood underlayment, running down the joyce to the drywall ceiling below upon which it finds it’s drain through the can light in the ceiling. Fabulous! TADA… I had found the source of the problem, now to figure out the fix.

For this I would need to leave the ‘comfort’ of the 24 whole inches of clearance in the attic and clamor up on the roof in the rain. I headed over to about where I thought the light was and I found this…

For those of you who are just like me, NOT ROOFERS, what you are looking at is a thumb size hole in the shingle. It went through two layers and was a beautiful little entrance site for water to begin it’s decent down through the roof and ultimately into a bucket on my family room floor. So being the weekend warrior that I am, I gathered up the essential tools and headed back up onto the roof to fix it.

Weekend Warrior Fix for a hole in the roof

That’s right, a blow torch, and some caulk. That should solve every problem. I torched the roof and then smeared some silicone in the hole. Take that Norm Abrams. You should come and check out ‘This Old House’ here. I’ll teach you a thing or two about patching a roof.

So there you have it. Next time your wife texts you something like, “There is water pouring out of the light in the family room ceiling. I need you here.” you’ll be totally prepared.

You can thank me later,

~Peter

P.S. we’ll have to see how my patch job stand up to our lady friend Irene who will be staying with us Saturday and Sunday.